Hat-shaping apparatus.



L. STEVENS.

HAT SHAPING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY I7. I913.

1324,4270 Patented May1,1917.

2 skins-SHEET 1.

LESLIE STEVENS, OF GLEN RIDGE, NEW JERSEY.

HAT-SHAPING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May i, 1917.

Original application filed June 3, 1909, Serial No. 499,904. Divided and this application filed July 17, 1913.

' Serial No. 779,491.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LnsLIn STEVENS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Glen Ridge, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hat-Shaping Apparatus, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to apparatus for shaping hats, and more especially one-piece hats, made of felt or other suitable and moldable material and of the class or general shape known as extension-crown hats, that is, hats having the head opening smaller than the lower part of the crown. Such smaller head opening in one-piece hats is formed by an annular fold of the felt extending inwardly from the lower extremity of the crown and from the brim, and such hats have been made prior to the present invention with the crown base or upper layer of such fold, extending from the crown proper tothe head band or inner angle of the fold, approximately flat, lying in the plane of the lower extremity of the sides of the crown.

The invention aims to provide improved apparatus for shaping extension-crown hats, and has as a principal object to provide apparatus for use in producing extension-crown hats, and more especially one-piece extension-crown hats, in accordance with the method described and claimed in my original application, Serial No. 499,904, filed June 3, 1909, of which application this is a division. By siich method extension-crown hats are made with an inset head band, that is, a head band which is set up into the crown above the lower extremity of the crown, and having a crown base which slants upwardly from the lower extremity of the crown to the head band; and in accordance with such method the hat is first shaped 4 with an outstanding head band, that is, one standing below Or beyond the plane of the bottom or lower extremity of the crown,

and with a crown baseslanting downwardly from the crown to the head band, and. the head band and crown base are then forced inward toward the top of the crown of the hat so as to reverse the slant of the crown base and set the head band in the desired position above the plane of the bottom or lower extremity of the crown. The hat thus first formed to a shape which is less rather than more diflicult to produce than the one-piece extension crown hats having a flat crown base as heretofore made, and then by the simple operation of revers ing the slant of the crown base a hat is produced having the desired inset head band.

The present invention relates in some of its features especially to blocking or shaping devices or forms for shaping the hat with an outstanding head band and outwardly inclined crown base which may be afterward forced inward toward the top of the crown to produce a hat with an inset head band in accordance with said method, but it is to be understood that blocking or shaping devices made in accordance with the present invention may be used for shaping hats otherwise than in accordance with such method, and that the invention is not to be limited in all its features to devices for shaping hats with an outstanding head band and outwardly inclined crown base. Shaping devices made in accordance with the invention, whether used in shaping hats according to said method or otherwise, may be employed in connection with or as part of suitable organized machines, or may be used in making hats by hand.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 shows in elevation a shaping or blocking device for shaping a onepiece hat to the form shown in Fig. 7;

2 is a section taken on line 2 of Fig. 1 and showing also in section a hat body in position ready to be shaped.

Fig; 3 is a view of the base of the brim form shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. i is a view of the base or outer face of the crown form taken on line i of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a combined crown form and brim form for setting to final shape hats which have been shaped on the forming device shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

6 is a view taken on line 6 of Fig. 5 showing the base or outer face of the crown form of said figure;

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic sectional view of a hat as shaped with an outstanding head band and downwardly sloping crown base;

Fig. 8 is a similar view of the hat shown in Fig. 7 after being set to its final shape;

Fig. 9 is an elevation of a modified form of a crown block for shaping hats with an outstanding head band;

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic sectional view of a crown block and brim board for setting to final shape a hat which has been shaped on a block such as shown in Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a diagrammaticalsectional view of a hat with a wide outstanding head band as shaped on a block such as shown in Fig. 9; and

Fig. 12 is a similar view of the hat shown in Fig. 11 when set to final shape.

Referring to the drawings; Figs. 1 to 4 illustrate a combined crown block and brim form by which hats having a dome shaped crown and a downwardly rolled brim may be shaped with an outstanding head band and downwardly inclined crown base. The device as shown comprises a crown block or form 10, and a brim board or flange 11. The crown block will be a sectional block of wood or other suitable material and of suitable construction to permit the sections to be withdrawn separately from a formed hat. The sides and top of the block may be of any desired form, according to the desired shape of the crown of the hat. The base or outer face of the block is provided with a forming shoulder 12 for determining the size and shape of the head opening of the hat, such forming shoulder being formed by the edge of a plate 13 secured to the medial section of the block; and the portion of the base or outer face of the block surrounding the shoulder 12 is beveled or inclined so as to form a convexly, or outwardly, inclined forming surface 1 1. Set into an opening in the plate 13 and a recess in the medial section of the block is a screw socket 15 for receiving a threaded head 16 carried by a bolt 17 which extends through the brim board and is adapted to be turned by a thumb head 1? for securing the block and brim board together and for releasing the same to permit them to be separated. The brim board, which may also be of wood or other suitable material is formed with a Hat top of the size of the shoulder plate 13 and is conveXly inclined beyond the flat top with a curved or straight inclined surface formed according to the roll or fiare to be given to the brim of the hat.

l/Vhen a hat is to be blocked or shaped, the crown block and brim form will be secured together, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the felt or other material which is to be shaped will be placed over the form and its edges caught on the pins 20, as shown in Fig. 2. A cone shaped hat body is preferably used,

especially if the hat is to be shaped on the form by hand, and the body will be steamed to make it properly soft and stretchable. After being placed on the forming device, and being suitably softened, the sides of the hat body will be drawn and stretched inward into the angle between the conveXly inclined faces of the crown block and brim board and against the forming shoulder 12, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2. In. pulling the hat by hand, this may be done by the use of a cord or other suitable means whereby the required drawing strain may be exerted to stretch the felt inward to the forming shoulder 12. After the felt is thus stretched into the angle between the crown form and brim board, the edge portion of the felt may be drawn into the groove 21 of the brim board by means of a cord or otherwise, and any unevenness pulled out of the brim. The felt will thus be stretched over, and caused to conform to, the whole form ing surface of the combined crown form and brim board, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2. The hat thus shaped will be allowed to dry, and after the felt has become sufficiently set and hardened, the connection between the brim board and the crown block will be loosened and the brim board removed, and the crown block will then be removed, leaving a hat shaped as shown in Fig. 7.

After the hat has been formed with the outstanding head band and downwardly inclined crown base, the head band a and the crown base a may be forced inward toward the top of the crown a to bring the hat to its final shape in any suitable manner and with the aid of any suitable means. In order to facilitate the operation and to insure the proper setting of the crown base and head band in their reversed positions, setting means such as shown in Figs. 5 and 10, or their equivalents, are advantageously used, such means including an interior crown-set ting form having a concavely, or inwardly, inclined setting face or surface against which the crown base is set in its reversed position.

Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, the setting device shown in these figures includes a crown form or block 25, and brim form 26 which as shown is the same as the brim form 11 shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and which in any case will have its shaping or setting face shaped according to the shape to be given to the brim. The crown form or block 25 as shown in Fig. 5 is a sectional block of wood or other suitable material, having a plurality of marginal sections and a medial section 27 adapted to be withdrawn from the marginal sections by being pulled from or pushed toward the base or outer side of the block, that is, the lower side as the block appears in Fig. 5. The base ing drawn out from the marginal sections of the block when the screw bolt 31 is turned to draw the two blocks, together, a locking plate 32 is mounted on the outer face of the medial section of the block by screws or studs 33 extending through slots in the look ing plate so as to permit the plate to be shifted. The locking plate is. provided with a number of slotted ends 34, one for each of the marginal sections of the block, and these end-s extend over the adjacent portions of the marginal sections in position to be moved beneath the. heads of studs 35 on the marginal sections. In use, the sectional crown block is assembled in the crown of the hat shaped as shown in Fig. 7, and the locking plate 32 is thrown to lock the, medial section of the. block to the marginal sections. The brim board 26 is. then placed beneath the brim of the hat and the two forms are moved toward each other and secured and forced together by means. of the screw bolt 31. The crown base, hea'd band and inner. portion of the brim are thereby forced upward to the position shown in Figs. 5 and 8 being caused to lie evenly and without wrinkles or folds in the desired posi-;

tion. The crown and brim of the hat may then be ironed or subjected to. other finishing operations.

Before the hat is thus set in its final shape, the downwardly inclined crown base and the portion of the brim adjacent to the head band are preferably softened to render the reversal of the crown base easier and to insure a better and more even setting of the crown base in its reversed position.

When the brim form 26 and crown form 25 are removed from the hat, the hat will have the shape shown in Fig. 8, and by rea son of the method followed in shaping the hat it will retain its shape with the crown base slanting upward from the, crown to the head band and with the lower edge of the sides of the crown set down close against the brim.

The shaping devices may be formed and proportioned so that the head band of the shaped hat will be of any desired width or simply a sharp bend of the felt at the junction of the inner extremities of the crown base and brim as in the hat shown in Figs. 7 and 8 formed on the shaping device of Figs. 1 and 2. If the head band is to be of a width considerably less than the distance between the planes of the upper and lower. extremities or. edges of the slanting crown base, then, before the head band and crown base are set up intov the crown, the brim or the inner. portion thereof should best be, suitably shaped to roll orflare downwardly so as not to interfere. with the insetting ofthe. head band and crown base. The amount of inclination or slant to be given to the inner portion of the brim Will depend upon the slant and width of the crown base and the width of the head band. In order to secure the best results, it is desirable that the slant or inclination of the crown base of the hat as shaped with an outstanding head band, and the inclination or slant of the inner portion of the brim shall be. relatively. such that the distance between a plane passing through the portion of the brim which will lie adjacent to the outer edge of the crown base or the lower extremity of the crown in the completed hat and the, plane of the inner edge or extremity of the downwardly slanting crown base, shall be slightly. less than the distance between the planes of the outer and inner edges or extremities respectively of the crown base, and the forms should be so shaped as to secure this result. For example, in a shaping device such as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the distance between the plane, of the inner or lower extremity of the inclined shaping face l i of the crown form, indicated by the dotted line a in Fig. 1, and the plane cutting the surface of the brim form on the line corresponding to the outer extremity of the shaping face 14 of the crown form, indicated by the dotted line b in Fig. 1, should be less than the distance between the plane a and the plane of the outer. or upper extremity of the shaping face 1% of the crown form, indicate(l by the dotted line 0. The hat will thus be shaped with the desired relative slant or inclination of the crown base and inner portion of the brim, and with these parts so relatively inclined, while the inclination of the brim will be suflicient to permit a reversal of the crown base before the brim comes against the lower extremity of the crown or the outer portion of the crown base, yet the crown base will be held in a position in which it will be under some tension to move farther upward or inward and will, therefore, tend to hold the crown and brim closely together.

Fig. 9 shows a form of block for shaping a hat with a wide head band, the block diifering from the crown block of Figs. 1 and 2 in having a wider forming shoulder 12. On this block hats may be shaped as shown in Fig. 11. As the width of the head band is nearly equal to the drop of the inner edge of the crown base below the bottom of the crown, the inner portion of the brim is left flat, and the lower edge of the head band when the hat has been set to final shape as shown in Fig. 12 will lie about in the plane of the bottom of the crown. A crown setting form and brim board such as shown in Fig. 10 may be employed in setting such a hat, the brim board being shown as a fiat board for setting a hat with a flat brim. A hat otherwise of the shape shown in Fig. 12 might of course be made with an upwardly or downwardly flared brim as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 12, or with an upwardly or downwardly rolled brim.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to shaping devices of the exact form or construction of those shown in the drawings and to which the foregoing description has been largely confined but that it includes changes and modifications thereof within the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A form for shaping crowns of extension-crown hats, having its outer face or base formed with an outwardly inclined shaping surface extending inwardly from the sides of the form, such inclined shaping surface making a clearly defined angle with the sides of the form and providing a shaping surface of substantial width extending in an approximately straight incline from such angle.

2. A form for shaping crowns of extension-crown hats, having on its outer face or base a forming shoulder for determining the shape and size of the head opening of the hat and an outwardly inclined surface surrounding the forming shoulder, such inclined surface making a clearly defined angle with the sides of the form and providing a shaping surface of substantial width extending in an approximately straight incline from such angle to said forming shoulder.

3. A form for shaping crowns of extension-crown hats, having on its outer face or base a forming shoulder for determining the size and shape of the head opening of the hat and of a width corresponding to the desired width of the head band, and an outwardly inclined surface surrounding the forming shoulder, such inclined surface making a clearly defined angle with the sides of the form and providing a shaping surface of substantial width extending in .an approximately straight incline from such angle to said forming shoulder.

4. Apparatus for shaping onepiece extension-crown hats, comprising a crown form having its outer face or base formed with an outwardly inclined shaping surface extending inwardly from the sides of the form, a brim form, and means for holding said forms in position relatively to each other with the inner portion of the shaping surface of the brim forming facing said inclined shaping surface of the crown form and with an outwardly opening space between them.

5. A form for shaping one-piece extension-crown hats, comprising a crown form having its outer face or base formed with an outwardly inclined shaping surface extending inwardly from the sides of the form, a brim form having an outwardly inclined shaping surface and means for separably holding said forms together with their outwardly inclined shaping surfaces facing each other.

6. A form for shaping one-piece extension-crown hats, comprising a crown form having its outer face 'or base formed with an outwardly inclined shaping surface extending inwardly from the sides of the form, a brim form having an outwardly inclined shaping surface, and means for detachably securing said forms together with their said outwardly inclined shaping surfaces facing each other, and one of said forms being provided with a forming shoulder for determining the size and shape of the head opening of the hat.

7. Apparatus for shaping'one-piece extension-crown hats, comprising a crown form, a brim form, and means for holding said forms in position relatively to each other with an open space extending inward from the sides of the crown form adjacent the outer face or base of the crown into which the material being shaped may be forced to form the head band of the hat.

8. A form for shaping one-piece extensioncrown hats, comprising a crown form, a

brim form having an outwardly inclined shaping surface, and means for separably holding said forms together in relative position with an open space extending inward from the sides of the crown form between the outer face or base of the crown form and the inner portion of the shaping surface of the brim form. 1

9. A form for shaping one-piece extension-crown hats, comprising a crown form a brim form, a forming member for determining the size and shape of the head opening of the hat, and means for separably holding the crown form and the brim form together with an open space extending inward from the sides of the crown form between the outer face or base of the crown form and the inner portion of the shaping surface of the brim form with said forming member in position to determine the size and shape of the headopening of the hat.

10. A form for shaping one-piece extension-crown hats, comprising a crown form having its outer face or base formed with an outwardly inclined. shaping surface ex tending inwardly from the sides of the form, a brim form, and means for detachably securing said forms together in relative position with an open space extending inward from the sides of the crown form between the outer face or base of the crown form and the inner portion of the shaping surface of the brim form, said forms being so shaped and proportioned that the distance between the plane of the inner extremity of the inclined shaping face of the crown form and the plane coinciding with the surface of the brim on the line corresponding to the outer extremity of the shaping face of the crown form shall be less than the distance between said first mentioned plane and the plane of the outer extremity of the shaping face of the crown form.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set 15 my hand, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LESLIE STEVENS.

WVitnesses A. L. KENT, PAUL H. FRANKIE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. O. 

